Wire-drawing machine



'July 30, l92j9 w. F. Hosp-ORD 1,722,421'

Y WIRE 'DRAWING MACHINE Filed June 6, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet yQW 7m July 30, 1929. w. F. HOSFORD WIRE DRAWING MACHINE Filed June 6. 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet W. F. HOSFORD WIRE DRAWING MACHINE Filed June 6, 1922 July 30, 1929.,

` 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Mdmfffosford Patented July. 3o, 1929.

, UNITED STATES ,PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM IFULLER HOSFORD, F OAK PARK, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WESTERN ELEC- TRIO COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK.

YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW WIRE-DRAWING MACHINE.

Application led J'une 6, 1922. Serial No. 566,206.

This invention relates toimprovements in wire drawing machines.

One object of the invention' is to provide a wire drawing machlne with a drivmg mechanism so designed that there are a minimum number of operative connections between the said drivingmechanism and the drawing elements of the machine,A whereby power for driving the said drawingelements is conserved, `the mechanism made capable of high speed operation, the machine rendered compact and a saving of floor space effected. To this end a machine made in accordance with this invention includes a driving mechanism and a clutch device mounted vwithin the capstan or drawing element for operatively conne'cting `and disconnectinn and from the driving mechanism.

Another object of the invention is to producea wire drawing' machine in which the wire drawing elements are enclosed within ja compartment which is provided'with doors so vdesigned and mounted that they are adapted to completely close or completely open one side of the said compartment so that unobstructed access is provided to the drawing elements.

v' a second horizontal shaft upon which a conical capstan is supported, a series of dies being mounted between the sheaves and the capstan.vv

.The diameter of each sheaveis less than the largest diameter of the capstan.

Other objects and advantages of thepresent invention will be set forth `in the follow-- v inggdescr'iptionand particularly pointed out` in the' appended claims. The 'accompanying drawings illustrate one embodiment of the invention, in which:

Fig. f 1 is aside elevation, parts being broken away,ofa machine embodying features of the invention;y y

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view ofthe capstan showing in .detail the clutch mechanism for connecting-it to and disconfr said capstan to' reapstarn l 'was-proposed to use sheaves of substantially necting it from the driving elements of the machine; A A y l Fig. 3 is an enlarged top plan view partly in section, showing in detail the mec lanism for mounting and operating the swinging doors, and l Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the several views, 10 represents a framework which supports a compartment 5 of substantially rectangular shape having top, bottom, back, and side walls 11, 12, 13, and 14 respectively. The front of the compartment may be closed by doors which will hereinafter be described in detail.

The wire drawing apparatus is mounted within the comparement 5 and comprises a horizontally dis osed shaft 18 which is tubular in form an' upon which is mounted a plurality of integral capstans 17--17 of different diameters. Supported above the shaft 18 are a plurality of sheaves 19 all of the same diameter and independently mounted upon a horizontally disposed shaft 20 suitably supported within the lcompartment 5. The

'sheaves preferably having the minimum .di-

ameter which it is possible to safely employ thereover. Mounted between the sheaves 19 and capstans 17-17 is a die block 21 carried by a bracket 22 secured to the back wall of the said compartment.

' 4Heretofore wire drawing machines have been proposed employing a series of sheaves of'diferent diameters, each being free to rotate on a common horizontal shaft mounted above and in substantially the same vertical plane with a stepped cone shaped drawing Since in such a construction, it

the rsame diameters as the corresponding stepped portions of the capstan access to the die block would be somewhat obstructed,

thus rendering the machine dicult to string .withl wire. However, in a machine embody ing' the present invention, the sheaves being .of theA same diameter and such diameter being materially less than the diameter of the last or final stepped portion of the capstan, the die, blocks are `rendered readily accessible, thus materially facilitating the sti-inging of the machine with wire. u

The shaft 18 is rotatably mounted within suitable antifriction bearings 25 supported by a bracket 26 carried by the rear wall 13 of the com artment'. The other end of the shaft 18 1s supported by an axial anti-friction bearing 27 supported by a sleeve 28 concentric with the shaft 18, the said sleeve being rotatably mounted on an external anti-friction bearing 29 carried by a bracket 30 also secured to the rear wall 13 of the compartment 5. The sleeve 28 is also supported on an internal anti-friction bearing 31 mounted between the said sleeve and the shaft 18. The shaft 18 and sleeve 28 are provided with thrust bearings 32 and 33 respectively. Secured to thev outer end of the shaft 18 is a bevel pinion 40 which meshes with a bevel gear 41 splined to a shaft 31 rotatably mounted within suitable bearings secured to the framework 10. The shaft 34 is driven by a motor or other suitable means (not shown).

The clutch mechanism for connecting the capstans 17-17 to and disconnecting them from the driving shaft 18 is shown in Figure 2 of the drawing, the clutch being illustrated in its operative position. This mechanism comprises an annular member secured to the innerend of the sleeve 18, the said member having secured thereto by means of a pin 71 a plurality of clutch disks 72. Alternately mounted between the clutch disks. 72 are clutch disks 73 which are secured by a pin 74 to the yinner peripheral wall of a cupshaped opening 75 made in the capstans 17-17. The disks 72 and 73 are movable lon-` gitudinally on the pins 71 and 74 respectively, and when pressure is exerted to force the disks together they form a driving connection between the capstans 17-17 and the sleeve 18, as readil understood. The means for forcing the dis is 72 and 73 together comprises `a plate 76 which engages the outermost disk, and when the plate is moved toward the right,into the position shown, serves to force the disks together sufficiently to cause them to rotate together. The plate 76 is fastened to one end of a shaft 77 mounted within the 'sleeve 1,8. A transverse pin 79 is secured in the shaft 77 and projects through diametrically opposite longitudinal slots 80 in the sleeve 18 and into openings 80 formed in a sleeve 81 rotatable on axial bearings 82. carried by the housing 78.

. The housing 78 is splined to thebracket 26 by a key 7 8 which prevents the housing from turning but permits it to slide longitudinally of the sleeve 18. Through the medium of the pin '79 and slots 8O the shaft 77 and housing 78 are movable together longitudinally of the sleevek 18. Secured to the sides ofthe housing 78 at diametrically opposite points are pins 81 which receive the bifurcated ends of a fork member 82 which is pivoted at 83 to a link 84. The link nas secured to its free end a pin 85 which fits within a slot formed in the upper end of a vertically reciprocable rod 86.l The lower end of the rod 86 is connected by a link 91 with one end of a leverl 92 which is pivoted at 93 to a bracket 94 carried 2. As the rod 86 moves downwardly the housing 78 is moved to the right, as viewed in Fig. 2, longitudinally of the shaft 18 through the medium of the link 84 and fork member 82 into the position shown in Fig. 2. The housing 78 carries with it the shaft 77 through the medium of the pin 79, causing the plate 76 carried by the shaft to exert suflicient pressure on the disks 72 and 73 to cause them to form a driving connection between the sleeve 18 and capstans 17 '-17. The pedal may be released and the rod 86 locked in its downward position by means of a lsuitable mechanism 96 operatively .connected withl'the mechanism 95. The mechanisms 95 and 96 are not illustrated or described in detail herein inasmuch as they are not essen-y tial to an understanding of the present invention and are fully disclosed in a co-pending application of J. N. Selvig, Serial No. 566,385,

filed J une 6, 1922.

When the mechanism 96 is released to unlock the rod 86 the said .rod is restored to its initial position and the housing 7 Sand shaft 7 7` moved toward the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, by means of energy stored in a compression spring 87 which has one of its ends in engagement with the shaft 77 and its otherend against a plug 99 screwed within the end of the sleeve 18. The housing 78 in moving to ward the left, as above described, engages a brake member 89 carried'therebyagainst the adJacent surface of an annular member.

90 secured to the capstan and serves to stop the rotation thereof.

In wire drawing machines the former practice has been to connect the capstan by intermediate shafting with a clutch device mounted apart therefrom. Bv mounting the clutch within the capstan this intermediate shaftingis dispensed with, resulting in a conc partment 5 is closed by co-operating doors 100 and 101. The doors are each secured to one y and 112 carried by t evarms y104 and 105 revpartment 5.

spectively. The doors are supported on the levers 106 which are fastened to stub shafts 113 rotatably mounted within suitable bearings 114 carried by the to wal] 11 of the com- One end o each of the shafts 113 has integral therewith a segmental Gear 115, which gears mesh with each other. Each of the arms 104 is provided with a roller 116 which fits within an varcuate slot 117 formed in a plate member 118 secured to the top wall 11 of the compartment 5. The arcuate slots 117 are each rovided with a curved portion 119 to receive the roller 116 when the doors are in their closed position,

as shown lin Fig. 3. Each of the doors 100 f and l101 is provided .with la suitable handle 120 for opening and closing them. When the doors are in their closed position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 3, they serve to completely close the front of the compartment 5 with the exception of a slot formed by cut-out ortions 121- formed in the abutting edges of t e door, the purpose of which will be hereinafter explained. To open the doors, either one is moved by means of its handle 120, the door being moved inwardly to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 3 b its hanger which is guided through the me ium of the roller` 116 and slot 117. The opening of either door causes a complementary movement of the other door through the medium of the segmental gears 115 which operatively connect the llevers 106. Attention is called to the fact, that lwhen the` doors are vin their open position they are mounted at opposite sides of the capstans 17-17 and leave the front of the compartment entirely unobstructed.

A supply-of wire to be reduced in diameter is carried by va supply spool 50 suitably mounted at the front of the machine. The wire is guided from the supply spool over and under pulleys 51 and 52 respectively and then over the rearsheave 19 and through the rst reducing die carried by the die block 21. The wire is `then wound once around the capstan 17 of smallest diameter, afterwhich it is passed upward and over the next'sheave 19 and through the next reducing die carried by the die block 21. The wire is .then wound around the n'ext capstan and then again over the next sheave 19 and through the next reducing die, etc., etc., until it is finally drawn down tothe desired diameter by the last reducing die. From the final reducing die the v.mounted thereon, a horizontal' drivl Imounted below said rst mentioned s aft, a

drawn wire passes around the capstan 17 of largest diameter and is guided by a pulley 57 rotatably mounted on a stationary arm 58 adjustably positioned 0n the shaft 20. From the pulley 57 the, wire passes through the exit opening 121 in the closed doors 100 and 101' to a pulley 59 carried by an arm 60 and thence is led to a take-up spool 6l driven by suitable mechanism (not shown).

i What is claimed is:

1. In a wire drawing machine, a horizontally disposed guide device, a' tubular shaft disposed therebelow, a stepped drawing roll lmounted thereon, a die block located intermediate'said guide device and drawing roll, a die supported by said die block arranged to have wire drawn vertically therethrough. by szliddrawin roll, a friction mechanical clutch mechanism mounted Within said stepped drawing roll for operatively connecting said drawing roll with the shaft, and means mounted within the shaft for controlling said clutch mechanism.

2. In a wire drawin machine, a horizontally disposed guide ro l, a tubular shaft disposed therebelow, a stepped drawing roll mounted thereon, a die block located intermediate said guide and drawing rolls, a die supported by said die block arranged to have wire drawn vertically therethrough by said drawing roll, a friction mechanical clutch mechanism Amounted Within said stepped drawing roll for operatively connecting said drawing roll with the shaft, and a reciprocable member mounted within the shaft for controlling said clutch. p

3. In a wire drawing machine, a horizontally disposed guide roll, a tubular shaft disposed therebelow, al stepped drawing roll mounted thereon, a die block located intermediate said guide and drawing rolls, a die supported by said die block arranged to have wire drawn vertically therethrough by said drawingy roll, a friction mechanical clutch mechanism mounted within said stepped drawing roll for operatively connecting said drawing roll with said shaft, a reciprocable member mounted within said shaft for operating said clutch mechanism, and means forY reciprocating said member.

4. In a wire drawing machine, a horizontal shaft, a plurality of sheaves independent-1 sha capstan mounted on said driving shaft, a plurality of dies mounted between said sheaves and capstan, a friction mechanical clutch mounted within said capstan for operatively connecting the capstan with the driving shaft, a reciprocable member operatively associated with said clutch mechanism, and means for reciprocating'said member to operate the clutch.

5. In a wire drawing machine, a compartment having a top, bottom, rear and side walls, wire drawing mechanism located with? in said compartment, a pair of doors for closing the front of said compartment, the adjacent edges of said doors being provided wlth cut-out portions so that when the doors are yclosed an exit opening for the drawn wire is provided, a. take-up mechanism located outside of said compartment, and a guide device also located outside of said compartment and associated with said take-up mechanism for directing and supporting the Wire from the opening in said doors to the take-up mechanism.

6. In a wire drawing machine, a compartment having top, bottom, rear and side walls, wire drawing mechanism located within said compartment, a pair of doors for closing the :front of said compartment, the adjacent edges of said doors being provided with cut-out portions so that when the doors are closed an exit opening for the drawn Wire is provided, a .take-up mechanism located outside ofsaid compartment, va guide device also 1ocated outside of said compartment, supporting the wire between said wire drawing mechanism and said take-up mechanism as passed through said opening, and an arm supporting said guide device and functioning to maintain the tension of the wire substantially uniform, said wire oscillating in the opening in said doors in accordance with the movement of said arm.

7. In a wire drawing machine, a compartment having top, bottom, realI and side walls, wire drawing mechanism located within said compartment, a pair of doors for closing the front of said compartment, the adjacent edges of said doors being provided with cut-out portions so that when the doors are closed an exit opening for the drawn wire is provided, means for permitting the movement of the doors to give an unobstructed access to the wire drawing mechanism, a take-up mechanism located outside of said compartment, and a guide device also located outside of said compartment and associated Withvsaid take-v up mec anism for directing and supporting the wire from the opening in the doors to said take-up mechanism.

8. In a wire drawing machine, a compartment having top, bottom, rear and side walls, wire drawingI mechanism located within said compartment, a pair of doors for closing the front of said compartment, the adjacent edges of said -doors being providedwith cutf out portions so that whenkthe doors are closed an exit opening for the drawn wire is provided, an idler pulley located within said compartment .over which the drawn wire passes to the opening in said doors, a take-up mechanism located outside said compartment, and a guide device also positioned outside of said compartment and located intermediate the take-up mechanism and said pulley for receiving said Iwire as it passes from the opening in said doors and directing it to said take-up mechanism.

9. Ina wire drawing machine, a compartment having a top, bottom, rear and side Walls, Wire drawing mechanism located Within said compartment, a pair of doors for closing the front of said compartment having an opening to allow the exit of the Wire and positioned to allow the entrance of the wire underneath one of the doors, take-up and supply mechanisms located outside of said compartment and below said doors, and guide devices also located outside of said compartment for guiding the Wire to` said drawing mechanism from the supply mechanism and receiving said wire from the opening between said doors to guide the wire to said take-up mechanism.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name ,this 31st dayof May, A. D. 1922. WILLIAM FULLER HOSFORD. 

